Entries in neighborhood
(1)

Everyone knows by now that I love my neighborhood. It's the kind of place where the kids can walk to their friends house, people wave as they drive by, and we yell at each other's children.

It seems other people are now interested in my neighborhood but for entirely different reasons.

They want to steal things.

They like open garages, unlocked cars, and dark corners.

Image of Shop Lifter/Thief via Jeremy Burgin on Flickr

One group of really smart hoodlums went into my friend's garage...at 8:00 pm while her husband was just inside bringing out the trash...and sat in their parked car and started rummaging around! What's more...they love on a cul-de-sac and the 'getaway' car was in the circle and had to drive past my friend's husband to get their other friend as he ran from the garage.

Yes, they were caught.

I hope it was worth the $.80 they made off with. I'm. Not. Kidding. eighty cents

Anyway, dumb or not I'd like to disuade any hoodlums from even trying, but leaving my outside lights on all night is a) costly and b) burns the bulbs out quicker than you can say, "Ah ha! Gotcha!"

Solar powered, motion-activated security lights

I recently met the company MAXSA at the DC Consumer Electronics Show and learned about some great residential (and commercial) products they have on the market including security lights.

They sent me a sample solar motion-activated security light to test and I have to say this is cool. During the day the solar charge panel converts sunlight into electricity and charges the batteries. The batteries then power the LED lights which turn on autmatically at night when motion is detected and lasts up to 4 minutes.

Image via MAXSA cause my photos were terrible

What I like:

It uses no electricity (saves me money).

I like the motion-activated 'surprise' any ne're-do-well will get if they set it off.

I like that you can control the amount of time the lights stay on up to 4 minutes.

I won't have to remember to turn the light on or off for guests as they arrive or leave in the dark!

Other Cool Stuff for the Home from MAXSA

My friends over at MAXSA knew I was excited about the solar security lights but THEY were really excited to tell me about their garage laser park system...and here's I start to think The Mister put them up to all this.

I mean, how did they know I'm always bumping into the freezer we have in our garage with my car?

They also have some very cool products for the car...and thus, Father's Day {hint hint} like the 3-outlet power adaptor (hello tailgating!) and foldable traction mats (for off-roading warriors).

Next on my list I think will be the solar walkway lights and flameless candle lanterns.

And a motion-activated vampire that pops out of the bushes...that's get them!

Janine

Disclosure: I received a solar powered dual-head LED security spotlight at no charge from MAXSA. All opinions expressed here are my own and this post was neither reviewed nor approved prior to publishing.